Sketchbooks

Let’s talk about sketchbooks.

I have always had a sketchbook. When I was younger I would save my money to buy beautiful Sketchbooks. I didn’t like to draw directly in them I would tape or glue my doodles and drawings in them. In middle school I bought a large sketchbook maybe an 18x24, thinking it was the cool artsy thing to do. I started drawing in that one; mostly smaller pieces and then branching into larger pieces.

In my high school art class, we use a basic 8x10 Strathmore spiral sketchbook. Each week we did two drawings, one still life and one abstract. At the end of the school year, it was mostly full. In college, every teacher encouraged us to always have a sketchbook saying “just have one with you, you never know when you’ll have a little time to draw or when you’ll want to write something down. Having a sketchbook eliminates those times of inspiration without documentation.

It wasn’t until after college that I began to really utilize sketchbooks. One of the hardest things for me was wanting to complete a sketchbook and feeling like it was such a hard thing to fully accomplish. It’s not uncommon for artists to have unfinished sketchbooks, but something about it really bothered me. I kept searching for the perfect sketchbook. Something that’s not bulky and easy to carry around and big enough for a postcard.

I found Strathmore’s Watercolor sketchbooks that have 20 pages in them and started using that as my go-to sketchbook. I also started really enjoying watercolor and how quickly it can be used. I would fill these every few months and take great pride in a completed sketchbook! There is nothing more satisfying than a full sketchbook. And along with that, there’s an extra spring in your step when you’re strolling through the craft store to get another book. In 2016 I felt like I was going through the sketchbooks too fast and we were going on a trip to Europe. So, I started searching for something that was compact and easy to travel with. As well as having a cover that I can put stickers on. I found Moleskins and have been using them since.

If you are interested in testing out my most used sketchbooks here are links to them on Amazon:

Strathmore watercolor sketchbook: https://amzn.to/3jS1gUo

moleskin watercolor Sketchbook: https://amzn.to/3qpjWNQ